U.S. Eavesdropping Is Allowed To Continue During Appeal

Published: October 5, 2006

The Bush administration can continue eavesdropping on the international communications of some Americans without a court warrant while it appeals a judge's ruling that the program is unconstitutional, the federal appeals court here ruled Wednesday.

President Bush has said the wiretapping program is needed in the campaign against terrorism; opponents say it oversteps constitutional boundaries on free speech, privacy and executive powers.

The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit gave little explanation for the decision. In the three-paragraph ruling, the judges said they considered the likelihood that an appeal would succeed, the potential damage to both sides and the public interest.

Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of Federal District Court in Detroit ruled on Aug. 17 that the program was unconstitutional, saying it violated the rights to free speech and privacy and the separation of powers in the Constitution.

The Justice Department had urged the appeals court to allow it to keep the program in place while it argued its appeal, claiming that the nation faced ''potential irreparable harm.'' The appeal is likely to take months.

The program monitors international phone calls and e-mail messages to or from the United States involving people whom the government says it suspects of having links to terrorism. A secret court can grant warrants for such surveillance, but the government says it cannot always wait for that court to take action.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the program on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs because of concerns that telephone conversations with overseas contacts will be monitored.

Similar lawsuits challenging the program have been filed by other groups, too.